When I enquired about what you get for your money (£700) to have a towbar specified on a new F31 330d from my local BMW dealer. He said that the towbar wasn't an electric retractable version as the rear bodywork would foul its movement. But that the rear bodywork is modified to have a small access panel in it, to be able to access the towbar socket in the chassis. They also put in additional oil/water coolers to minimise the possibility of overheating when towing in hot weather. He couldn't tell me if the rear PDC is automatically disabled when the towbar is fitted. I believe this feature is available from other car manufacturers. So I guess I will have to wait and see about that one.

When I enquired about what you get for your money (£700) to have a towbar specified on a new F31 330d from my local BMW dealer. He said that the towbar wasn't an electric retractable version as the rear bodywork would foul its movement. But that the rear bodywork is modified to have a small access panel in it, to be able to access the towbar socket in the chassis. They also put in additional oil/water coolers to minimise the possibility of overheating when towing in hot weather. He couldn't tell me if the rear PDC is automatically disabled when the towbar is fitted. I believe this feature is available from other car manufacturers. So I guess I will have to wait and see about that one.

Right thanks. Was this when the car was ordered new, or a retrofit? Which BMW dealer was this as I see you're also in Hampshire.

I was enquiring about having it fitted as new, as in when ordering it from the factory. My local dealer is Barons of Farnborough.

My worries are that it is easy to get a towbar fitted but not so easy to have the additional cooling/engine mods done, if not done by BMW. Never mind the warranty issue. But I depend on what you might be pulling. If its a low weight trailer then then engine/gearbox shouldn't be put under much strain in hot weather. So you might get away with no additional cooling.

I haven't ordered my F31 yet as I'm waiting for the xdrive to become available on diesels

I was enquiring about having it fitted as new, as in when ordering it from the factory. My local dealer is Barons of Farnborough.

My worries are that it is easy to get a towbar fitted but not so easy to have the additional cooling/engine mods done, if not done by BMW. Never mind the warranty issue. But I depend on what you might be pulling. If its a low weight trailer then then engine/gearbox shouldn't be put under much strain in hot weather. So you might get away with no additional cooling.

I haven't ordered my F31 yet as I'm waiting for the xdrive to become available on diesels

Well ours is the 320d, not the 320d, but I'll check to see if it requires the coolers upgrading with BMW.

We could be towing anything. Usually a small garden rubbish trailer, but sometimes larger boats.